If you’ve read my blog for a while and, in particular, have scrolled through my suggested itineraries, you’ll know that I love reminding travellers in Japan do slow right down and notice all of the little details as thats where I feel the real magic within Japan lies. It’s for this reason that I always recommend tourists have their own internet organized ahead of time ( I talk about it in my Preparing for Japan post here) as I believe that you need to wander, take it all in, wander down alleyways and deliberately get off at the “wrong” station. Japan is safe enough to do so and, if you have Internet , then google maps will take you back to your accommodation safe and sound – whenever you’re ready.
Today I would like to make a random recommendation….
If you have the chance, I recommend stopping outside of a Japanese department store just prior to opening time.
This doesn’t just apply to the larger cities in Japan either ( in fact, the cute little grandmas and grandpas bowing as the first customers enter the store has even more character and cute-ness when you’re in a little country town.)
First off, it’s important to note that, in Japan, department stores open quite late in the morning compared to many other countries ( I spoke about slower mornings in Tokyo here) so you’ll need to check ahead of time. Usually it is either 10 or 11am.
There is a cute youtube clip here that shows the morning ritual for staff members in Japan
The first thing you will probably notice is that the store will open on the very first minute of the hour. Not a second early. Not a second late.
All the staff will be forward facing and will bow and will great all customers with “irrashaimase!” as they walk through those doors. ( Don’t worry, you don’t have to respond to irrashaimase but you can say hello if you’d like to – I wrote more about that here if you’re interested.) Sometimes they will say “ohayo gozaimasu” ( Good Morning) too.
In the west, many joke that “the customer is always right.” Whereas in Japan, the closest equivalent is “the customer is god.” And this bowing and welcoming ritual is one way to make those first customers of each day feel especially important.
When I was an exchange student in the countryside in Japan I worked for one of the big Japanese department stores during my winter school holidays. Did I have to stand at the main door to meet customers? No. But did we have to be standing to attention for when customers entered our department ( I worked in the fruit department which was actually fancy … believe it or not.. hahaa.. I wrote about it here.) Gosh it was such a good way to learn about customer service and the expectations involved – and definitely helped set me up for a job in a hotel later on down the track.
Extra tip:
If you’re at a department store in the evening and you hear the instrumental version of “Auld Lang Syne” over the loud speakers – that means the store is about to close ( the choice of song drives my Scottish husband crazy as, to him, that song means it is New Years Eve.)
